MVC 4 Web API 2 ajax call all parameters optional

Question

I realy want your option. We update a .net MVC 3 project to MVC 4 with web api 2, this a web service. The ajax calls is from android machines with the Devextreme/Phonegap.

After the update the web service when i call login from android i get "No HTTP resource was found that matches the request URI 'http://www.whatever.gr/MVCService/Actions/Login'"

I want to set the route so that all methods of the MVC service can have parameters optional. I can't get this work..

We can't change the source on the android app,and ajax call is the code below

function doLogin(username, password, callback) {
    loading(true);

    var dataStr = "uid=" + uid + "&username=" + username + "&password=" + password;
    var success = false;
    var token = "";
    $.ajax({
        type: "POST",
        url: registrationServiceUrl + 'Login',
        data: dataStr,
        beforeSend: function () {
            //alert("registration no: " + registrationid);
        },
        success: function (retval) {
            if (retval.indexOf('SUCCESS') == 0) {
                success = true;
                token = retval.substring(8);
                //setTokenToSettings(token); 
            } else {
                success = false;
            };
            callback(success, token);
            loading(false);

        },
        error: function (retval) {
            callback(success, token);
            loading(false);

        }
    });
}

The route in MVC is

 public static void Register(HttpConfiguration config)
            {
                // Web API configuration and services

                // Web API routes
                //config.MapHttpAttributeRoutes();

                config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
                    name: "DefaultApi",
                    routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{id}",
                    defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional }
                );

                config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
                    name: "ActionApi",
                    routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
                    defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional }
                );
            }

When i hit like below with parameters in a browser i have a response 'http://www.whatever.gr/MVCService/Actions/Login?param1=1&param=2&param3=3'.

I want to have the behavior, when to hit 'http://www.whatever.gr/MVCService/Actions/Login' or 'http://www.whatever.gr/MVCService/Actions/Login?param1=1&param=2&param3=3&invalidParamName=x'.

And the web service method to be trigger with empty parameters values.

But without setting optional parameters in the method

public string Login(string pamar1 = "",string param2 = "", string param3 = "")

With MVC 3 this was working fine as I explained before.

Thanks in advance and for your time.

Hi, I don't think it's anything to do with your client application. I had the same problem a while ago. Please take a look at this post.stackoverflow.com/questions/19093603/simple-post-to-web-api/… and also see the reason behind it in this question stackoverflow.com/questions/19424493/… — Amila
I have tried [HttpGet(), HttpPost()] public JsonResult<string> Login([FromBody]string uid, [FromBody]string username, [FromBody]string password) but i get An error has occurred — Dimitrios
I think this is the ajax call data: dataStr $.ajax({ type: "POST", url: registrationServiceUrl + 'Login', data: dataStr, but how this works on MVC 3?? — Dimitrios

Amila Amila · Accepted Answer · 2015-11-12T08:23:02

In Web API, it's very simple to remember how parameter binding is happening.

if you POST simple types, Web API tries to bind it from the URL
if you POST complex type, Web API tries to bind it from the body of the request (this uses a media-type formatter).

This asp.net page explains it all. http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/formats-and-model-binding/parameter-binding-in-aspnet-web-api

MVC 4 Web API 2 ajax call all parameters optional

1 Answers